Complex ray representation of the astigmatic Gaussian beam propagation

The method of Gaussian beam ray-equivalent modelling, first proposed by Arnaud, is generalized to the case of general astigmatism. It has been shown that a generally astigmatic Gaussian beam can be properly represented by two complex rays, or equally by four real rays, which are treated by the well-known propagation equation and ray tracing method in geometric optics, and from which the beam parameters are easily obtained. Illustrative numerical examples are given. The equivalence between the complex-ray treatment and the generalized ABCD law is also shown.     

Symmetrizing transformation of general astigmatic Gaussian beams

The symmetrizing transformation of coherent general astigmatic Gaussian beams is analysed by the tensor ABCD law. It is shown in this paper that a nonorthogonal astigmatic Gaussian beam (with rotation) can be transformed into a rotationally symmetric one by the combination of four cylindrical lenses. A simple example is given.     

The representation of waist-to-waist transformation of Gaussian beams by the scaled fractional Fourier transform

The beam waist-to-waist transformation of Gaussian beams between input and output reference planes described by the scaled fractional Fourier transform is analyzed in this paper. We obtain the transfer matrix of ABCD optical system that corresponds to the scaled fractional Fourier transform. The results show that the beam waist-to-waist transformation of Gaussian beams can be described by the scaled fractional Fourier transform when the ABCD optical system has a suitable transfer matrix. The relationship between the input and output waist planes and some particular cases when a Gaussian beam passes through a thin lens is also discussed.     

Towards a wave theory of charged-beam propagation

Summary Using a recentquantum-mechanical treatment of charged-beam propagation in which the emittance plays the role of Planck's constant, we construct a wave theory of the beam transport along guiding systems. We show that the distribution of a beam passing through quadrupole lenses can be described in terms of Gaussian beams. We discuss the role of Twiss parameters within this context and derive anABCD law for charged beam transport.     

Approximate analytical representation of Wigner distribution function for Gaussian beams passing through ABCD optical systems with hard aperture

Based on the treatment that a rectangular function can be expanded as an approximate sum of complex Gaussian functions with finite numbers, the analytical expression of the Wigner distribution function for a Gaussian beam passing through a paraxial ABCD optical system with hard-edged aperture is obtained. By numerical simulation, it is shown that the effect of the aperture on the Wigner distribution function is prominent. By comparing the analytical results with the numerical integral results, it is shown that this method of expanding hard-edged aperture into Gaussian functions with finite numbers is proper and ascendant. This method could be extended to study the Wigner distribution functions of other light beams passing through a paraxial ABCD optical system with hard-edged aperture.     

Third- and fourth-order parametric characterization of partially coherent beams propagating throughABCD optical systems

Within the formalism of the Wigner distribution function, third- and fourth-order measurable beam parameters are proposed and their physical meaning is investigated. The general propagation law of such characteristic quantities inABCD optical systems is derived and a number of paramters are shown to be invariant under propagation inABCD devices.     

Kurtosis parameters of super Lorentzben Gauss beams through a paraxial and real ABCD optical system

Based on the propagation equation of higher-order intensity moments, analytical propagation expressions for the kurtosis parameters of a super Lorentz-Gauss (SLG) SLG₀₁ beam through a paraxial and real ABCD optical system are derived. By replacing the parameters in the expressions of the kurtosis parameters of the SLG₀₁ beam, the kurtosis parameters of the SLG₁₀ and SLG₁₁ beams through a paraxial and real ABCD optical system can be easily obtained. The kurtosis parameters of an SLG₀₁ beam through a paraxial and real ABCD optical system depend on two ratios. One is the ratio of the transfer matrix element B to the product of the transfer matrix element A and the diffraction-free range of the super-Lorentzian part. The other is the ratio of the width parameter of the super-Lorentzian part to the waist of the Gaussian part. As a numerical example, the properties of the kurtosis parameters of an SLG₀₁ beam propagating in free space are illustrated. The influences of different parameters on the kurtosis parameters of an SLG₀₁ beam are analysed in detail.     

An explicitly solvable case of the construction of the fundamental cavity mode in the form of a Gaussian beam with a complex astigmatism

An analysis is carried out of the ring cavities whose fundamental modes represent Gaussian beams with complex astigmatism. The analysis is made for the case where the block B or C in the cavity ray matrix ABCD of dimension 4×4 is a symmetric nondegenerate matrix. Explicit formulas are obtained, which permits the expression of beam characteristics directly in terms of the cavity ray matrix without the laborious process of finding its eigenvectors. The results obtained in the study can be used for controlling astigmatism in lasers and laser systems, the calculation of polarization of three-dimensional active media in linear and ring optical cavities of complex configuration, etc.     

Generalized beam propagation factor of hard-edged circular apertured diffracted Bessel–Gaussian beams

Based on the truncated second-order moments method on the cylindrical coordinate systems and the incomplete gamma function, an analytical expression of the generalized beam propagation factor (M_G² factor) of hard-edged circular apertured diffracted Bessel–Gaussian beams is derived and illustrated numerically. It is shown that the M_G² factor of hard-edged diffracted BGBs mainly depends on the truncation parameter δ and the beam parameters m and η. The results can be reduced to that for the non-truncated Bessel–Gaussian beams case and that for the truncated fundamental Gaussian beams case under certain conditions, respectively. The power fraction is also discussed analytically and numerically.     

Generalised ABCD matrix treatment for laser resonators and beam propagation

A generalised ABCD matrix treatment for laser resonators and beam propagation is developed for computer programming. In this treatment, imaginary parts are introduced into the matrixes for all optical elements, and the beam quality factor M² and the index of the medium are also taken into account. When the imaginary parts of the complex matrix are zero and the beam quality factor M² and medium index are unity, the stated method is transformed back into the more classic ABCD matrix format in which the fundamental-mode Gaussian beam transmits through real elements in the vacuum. Based on this method, laser resonator software is realised by the VB programme language. The software can be used to analyse and design stable/unstable standing/travelling cavities, phase-conjugate cavities and beam transformations.     

Propagation properties of partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model beams through an axis-unsymmetric paraxial ABCD system

By using the beam coherence-polarization (BCP) matrix approach, analytical propagation equations of partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model (PGSM) beams through an axis-unsymmetric paraxial optical ABCD system are derived, which enable us to study the propagation-induced polarization changes and irradiance distributions at any propagation distance of PGSM beams through axis-unsymmetric systems within the framework of the paraxial approximation. Detailed numerical results for a PGSM beam passing through a bifocal lens are presented to illustrate the propagation properties of PGSM beams. A comparison with the previous work is also made.     

A Method to Calculate Correlation Functions for β=1 Random Matrices of Odd Size

The calculation of correlation functions for β=1 random matrix ensembles, which can be carried out using Pfaffians, has the peculiar feature of requiring a separate calculation depending on the parity of the matrix size N. This same complication is present in the calculation of the correlations for the Ginibre Orthogonal Ensemble of real Gaussian matrices. In fact the methods used to compute the β=1, N odd, correlations break down in the case of N odd real Ginibre matrices, necessitating a new approach to both problems. The new approach taken in this work is to deduce the β=1, N odd correlations as limiting cases of their N even counterparts, when one of the particles is removed towards infinity. This method is shown to yield the correlations for N odd real Gaussian matrices. The work of P.J.F. was supported by the Australian Research Council, and A.M. was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award.     

Producing binary diffraction gratings in the double-diffraction system

In this paper, a method — based on the diffraction of light — for producing binary diffraction gratings is presented. It is shown that using two master gratings of the Ronchi type and utilizing the results of the double diffraction system it is possible to produce binary gratings with an arbitrary opening ratio. The results have been extended for a two-dimensional case and it is shown that producing binary grid gratings with arbitrary opening ratios in both x and y directions is also possible.     

Matrix formulation of axis-symmetric laser beams through a paraxial ABCD system containing hard-edged apertures: A comparative study

A matrix formulation is presented, which enables us to study the propagation of axis-symmetric beams through a paraxial optical ABCD system containing hard-edged aperture. Numerical calculation results of super-Gaussian beams passing through a multi-aperture-lens system are given to illustrate the advantage of the method. A comparison of the matrix formulation, complex Gaussian expansion and direct numerical integration of the Collins formula is made, where the propagation of apertured Laguerre-Gaussian beams is chosen as an illustrative example. It is shown that the matrix formulation provides satisfactory results in both Fraunhofer and Fresnel regions, and reduces the computational time greatly in comparison with the direct integration. However, this method is suited only to axis-symmetric optical beams and systems. By using the complex Gaussian expansion discrepancies exist in the near zone closer to the aperture, but usually its computational efficiency is higher than the matrix formulation.     

Kerr lens effects in a folded-cavity four-mirror linear resonator

The Kerr-lens model locking of a folded-cavity four-mirror linear Ti: sapphire laser is simulated by applying the ABCD ray-tracing technique for a Gaussian beam. The intensity dependent Kerr-lens ABCD matrix of the Brewster-plate shaped active medium is derived. A split-step parabolic refractive index model is used. the astigmatism compensation condition is derived from the ABCD ray-tracing. Simulations are carried out for a symmetric resonator and an asymmetric resonator design. Hard-aperture loss mode locking and soft-aperture gain mode locking are discussed. The optimum design parameters (slit position for hard-aperture loss mode locking, pump beam focusing for soft-aperture gain mode locking, gain cavity spacing, gain medium position) for Kerr-lens mode locking are determined.     

Analysis of Off-Axial Optical Systems (2)

The extended 4×4 Gaussian bracket matrix Gij represents the lowest order quantity of “aberration coefficient tensor quantities” which are defined to as the peculiarity of off-axial optical systems and are independent of azimuths. We newly confirmed this extended 4×4 Gaussian bracket matrix of deflection (refraction or reflection), transmission and “twisting.” The result determined by use of a new representative method of asymmetrical surfaces and a method of paraxial expansion along the folded reference axis shows that the 4×4 Gaussian bracket matrix is the extended form of the 2x2 Gaussian bracket matrix which is used in co-axial rotational symmetric optical systems. Furthermore, we analyze and formalize the crossterm effects, which are the most serious problem in optical systems having multiple off-axial surfaces, using the concept of a chain of “optical systems divided into former and latter” and the vector-tensor analysis method. The result of this analysis reveals the structure of the cross-term effects and proves the usefulness of the vector-tensor analysis method in general image analysis.     

ABCD rule for Gaussian beam propagation in the context of quantum optics derived by the IWOP technique

The development of technique of integration within an ordered product (IWOP) of operators extends the Newton-Leibniz integration rule, originally applying to permutable functions, to the non-commutative quantum mechanical operators composed of Dirac’s ket-bra, which enables us to obtain the images of directly mapping symplectic transformation in classical phase space parameterized by [A, B; C, D] into quantum mechanical operator through the coherent state representation, we call them the generalized Fresnel operators (GFO) since they correspond to Fresnel transforms in Fourier optics. Based on GFO we find the ABCD rule for Gaussian beam propagation in the context of quantum optics (both in one-mode and two-mode cases) whose classical correspondence is just the ABCD rule in matrix optics. The entangled state representation is used in discussing the two-mode case.     

Propagation of relative phase shift of apertured Gaussian beams through axisymmetric optical systems

When a Gaussian beam is apertured, it undergoes a phase shift as well as a focal shift. The relative phase shift of an apertured Gaussian beam through an axisymmetric optical system written in ABCD matrix is analyzed by applying Collins' diffraction integral formula. And, more important, the condition of dispeling the relative phase shift is obtained, which is related with the Fresnel number. At last, some extensions are given.     

Changes in generalized Stokes parameters of stochastic electromagnetic beams on propagation through ABCD optical systems and in the turbulent atmosphere

Using the derived formulas for the transformation of 2 × 2 cross-spectral density matrix of the stochastic electromagnetic beams propagating through ABCD optical systems and in the turbulent atmosphere, the changes in the generalized Stokes parameters of the beams propagating under these conditions can be investigated directly. Some typical numerical calculations are illustrated relating to the electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model beams passing through free space, focal system, dual-focus system, and the turbulent atmosphere with different structure parameters. Further extensions are also pointed out.     

Focal shift and focal switch of partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model beams passing through a system with the aperture and spherically aberrated lens separated

Based on the beam coherent-polarization (BCP) matrix approach and propagation law of partially coherent beams, the focal shift and focal switch of partially polarized Gaussian Schell-model (PGSM) beams passing through a system with the aperture and spherically aberrated lens separated is studied in detail. Our main attention is focused on the effect of spherical aberration and partial coherence on the focal shift and focal switch of PGSM beams. It is shown that for polarizer-free case there is no focal switch of PGSM beams, the focal shift of PGSM beams is closely related with spherical aberration coefficient C₄, auto-coherence length σ_a, truncation parameter δ and relative position s/f between the aperture and lens in general, and is independent of the cross-coherence length σ_c. After inserting a polarizer the focal switch can take place. Numerical calculation results are given to illustrate how the spherical aberration and partial coherence affect the focal shift and focal switch of PGSM beams.